"I won't be coming back until this crisis is over."

"Who's supposed to maintain leadership while you're gone?"

"I've already delegated responsibility to Tritoch. He's stronger than most other espers. If things get out of hand, he can put them down."

Starlet sighed and rolled her eyes. She didn't like this. She was still too emotionally distraught from yesterday. But now, with the new multitude of problems that were rushing in on them, she had more things to worry about. "I just don't see why you can't stay here. We need you to maintain some order."

Leviathan sighed as well as he continued to shove a few essentials from his work studio into a bag. "Don't start on this again, Starlet…"

"Already, some of the people who supposedly 'swore' allegiance to Bahamut after that incident are rallying again." Starlet continued. "They're keeping quiet for now, but if you leave there's nothing to stop them from going public. Then we could all be going into a civil war before Wyvern comes back to finish off the survivors."

Leviathan continued to pack, but shook his head. "No…what would really cause a civil war right nowwould be if I gave them a reason to get violent. I want these people to realize that if they side with Wyvern they'll eventually be signing their own death warrants. He is too unstable for anyone to follow him. And since even if they listened to reason it wouldn't be enough to stop him, this is the only way."

Starlet crossed her arms and began to pout. She silently watched as Leviathan continued to take diagrams off of his shelves, roll them up, and shove them into the pack. She shook her head after a moment, and then continued. "You know…I'm not too happy about your big idea either. I don't like the thought of turning over rule to some amalgamation of spirit energy that could be anything for all I know."

Leviathan, not looking up, responded. "Would you prefer to turn rule over to Wyvern?"

"No, but-"

"Then we have no choice." Leviathan flatly stated. "The only thing that can beat him now is this new esper. Besides, I can guarantee it will be totally altruistic. If we did eventually decide it was for the best that it not be around, it would step down itself."

"I don't care!" Starlet retorted immediately. "This isn't something with a real soul! This isn't another living thing! It's some…machine! You can't trust something like that! And I know that I'm not alone in this. No one is going to be ok with it. Not espers that are on his side or ours."

Leviathan paused and frowned a moment. Actually, he believed Starlet about that. It was likely that no one would favor turning over rule to this thing. He wasn't sure he liked it either. This entire project would never have passed the realm of fantasy if it hadn't been for the fact that Wyvern returned and necessitated it. Yet as he thought before, they did have no choice. This was their last gamble. The world was quickly losing whatever order it had left. When Wyvern attacked Alexandria, the last of the major races on Gaia would be thrown into chaos. Then there would be nothing to stop whatever sinister plan this Kuja had in mind for the world.

It was tempting to stay here. Goodness knew how much chaos would happen here while he was gone, or if open war between espers would break out over this latest change of events. But Leviathan knew that he was better placed at the stone monolith. He was the only one who truly knew its design. If he could have it completed quicker, so much the better. There was no telling how long Alexandria had, although the sea serpent had theories. At any rate, if it wasn't ready by the time Wyvern got there, there wouldn't be a stone monolith left for Leviathan to activate.

At last, he was packed. After doing so, Leviathan hoisted up his pack and put it over his shoulder, now that he had temporarily returned to human form. He turned around to Starlet afterward. His wife was still disagreeable, and looked like she thought this was a bad idea all around. The esper sighed in response. But after a pause, he slowly began to walk up to her. Once he was in front, he stopped and spoke more quietly.

"…This really is our only hope, Starlet. Whether we like it or not. We can sort out everything after. Right now…we have to beat Wyvern and Kuja. You know this."

Starlet didn't answer, and kept her head turned away from Leviathan. The sea serpent frowned again and bowed his head. After a moment or so longer, however, he sighed and looked up again, and turned to the window for a moment.

"…I won't be there until about this time tomorrow. I'm changing into a lower power form in case Wyvern is keeping an eye out for me. The last thing we need is himseeing a lot of espers gathered there. Palidor will keep sending reports."

Starlet still said nothing. Leviathan turned back to her and swallowed. Yet after a moment longer, Starlet turned back to Leviathan. Her anger vanished…and instead was replaced with the trouble and sadness that she had within her. After a momentary pause, she slowly exhaled again, and extended her arms to him. Slowly she rested them on his shoulders and looked into his own eyes.

"…Just take care of yourself…and come back to me."

Leviathan stared back at her, taking in this sudden softening. Slowly, he nodded in reply. "I'll come back here alive. I promise."

The two looked at each other a moment longer. Then, both filling with trouble and dread, they leaned forward and embraced more tightly. They exchanged kisses as well. Inside, both of them began to feel fear. They could sense it on each other now. Despite the arguments and what was going on, they were in real danger of being separated from one another. Both of them knew that Wyvern could easily kill the other in seconds, after what had happened to Odin. There was a chance, should anything happen on either end, that they wouldn't be seeing each other again. It was a frightful possibility they didn't dare indulge for now, but it was there.

At last, the two parted again. They looked at each other only a moment longer. Then, Leviathan turned and began to make his way past Starlet and out of his room, so that he could go outside and transform. As for Starlet, she was left to blankly stare at the now empty interior of the room, and brood about all that could happen to them both within the next few days.

The trip that Leviathan proposed did indeed take a long time. His estimation in how long it would take was correct, but he had underestimated now tedious it would be and how much physical strength it would take. Birds were capable of flight and high speeds, but they didn't have nearly so much energy reserves as espers. In that tiny body, Leviathan found himself exhausting to the point of starvation time and time again, although his true esper side made him capable of enduring much longer lengths of exertion than a typical bird. Still, it was hard work to go that far, and he hated how slow he was going, especially when he was crossing areas like bodies of water that had no place to rest on them, or was in a wide open area. For the latter, he feared continuously that Wyvern would suddenly appear and strike without warning. The world wasn't safe anymore, and even in disguise he was not totally out of danger. After night passed and the next day came, it was a welcome sight when he finally saw Alexandria in the distance.

With the mist gone, Leviathan saw it much closer than he expected. However, it still took some time to get there. Even at full speed, his bird body was nothing compared to his esper form. He took the chance to gaze over the great pillar of stone, supporting Alexandria Castle on top of it. Even now…he could already make out the design beneath that was just waiting to come out. A wave of anxiety went over him. They were really going to do it. After centuries of work, this thing would finally become a reality. He thought again of the fears that had presented themselves to Starlet before…and he mulled over them a moment. The truth was…the espers hadn't had much good fortune where luck was concerned for quite some time. If luck failed them now, then they would be in deep trouble. Wyvern was strong…but if somehow this thing became evil than there wasn't a force in the universe that Leviathan knew of that could do it in. And yet…he couldn't afford to worry about that now.

Finally, he had descended into the forest surrounding Alexandria. On a practiced path, his bird body whizzed through the canopy and trees until it was overshadowed by the might of the stone monolith. There was one good thing. He didn't have to bother transforming today. He merely made a beeline straight for the opening in the side of the mountain. A guard was still there, but he didn't care. He continued to fly onward to the door beyond. Solid and formidable as it was, there was a small warp in the top and the bottom. This was for emergencies when espers had to get in quickly. It was small matter for him to fly to the top and squeeze his tiny body through the opening. The guard looked up once, but then, of course, dismissed it as nothing more than a swallow going to some nest it had in the ceiling within. Soon, Leviathan was safely on the other side.

The esper immediately dove to the ground and transformed. His feathers were shed, his body swelled and enlarged, his limbs broadened, and he grew new clothing and hair. Soon, he was in human form again, and with the full sized pack. That was a rather ingenuious spell on his part. He had learned how to shrink objects he needed to take with him, and then expand them back to their normal size when the time was required. That was how he was able to carry his load with him from Terratopolis on the body of a mere swallow. Now having it, and back in his human form, Leviathan quickly made his way down the hall into the main interior.

Before arriving, Leviathan already heard more noise and labor than normal. That was due to his addedworkforce dispatched to the monolith, but also due to the urgency to get the massive structure operational by Leviathan's deadline. The sea serpent was glad to hear it, but for all his appreciation of the hard work he wished it was going faster. Soon he had come into the opening, and light spilled down on him. Again, he was in one of the inner chambers. The esper looked up and around at the facility, and saw the familiar sight of a score of espers rushing around through the vast pieces of machinery and clockwork, working furiously to make sure everything was operational and flawless.

However, they didn't work long. Until now, Leviathan had always signaled when he would be arriving for an inspection. This had not been announced. As the esper king made his way into the main chamber of the machinery, the other espers slowed and stopped their work, and then looked with puzzled stares down to the sea serpent. They seemed genuinely surprised to see him, and soon all of the work turned to silence although the gears within the stone monolith continued to move and chug. Leviathan himself looked up to them all, betraying no change in emotion, and merely stood there. Soon enough, he saw a space between rotating axles and large gears up on the third floor. A large cobra head poked out from it like an adder from its hole, and looked down in puzzlement at this new arrival.

"Lord Leviathan?" Terrato called down, sounding genuinely confused as to seeing him.

Leviathan inhaled once, and forced himself to be calm. The people here didn't know the truth, and he dared not let them know it. For now, to avoid the threat of insurrection that was brewing back in Terratopolis, he had to be normal. And so, he forced himself to smile. "Greetings, Terrato." He called back up to him. "Since I gave you all such a stringent deadline, I thought it might be best if the original architect, if I may so refer to myself, came to lend a hand."

Some of the espers blinked at that, but then returned to their own tasks. After all, Terrato was the head of labor. If there was a discussion to be made, it would be between him and whoever had arrived. Some of them were a bit more nervous, not expecting a sudden arrival of Leviathan, and thinking that he had come to make sure they weren't slacking off or had came to speed them along. However…Terrato merely continued to look down in puzzlement. After a moment, he pulled his head back through his precarious position, but only to change and look down over the edge.

"I wasn't expecting you, my lord. If I was, I would have given you a more proper greeting. We heard no word of your arrival. As it is, I've had my hands…" Terrato trailed off at that for a moment, then rolled his eyes and sighed. "Well…coils…full since I left the kingdom."

Leviathan licked his lips once, and then nodded. "Yes…and I can see you are doing a good job. However, I would like a word in private with you for a moment before I start getting my own hands dirty."

Terrato paused at that, and then looked a bit uneasy. "…I'm sort of in the middle of calibrating some of the finer gears at the moment, my lord. And though it's necessary it is very hard and precise work…"

Leviathan tried to stay as normal and carefree as possible…but at that moment his own blue eyes burned seriously, and pierced Terrato's gaze with such power that it made the earth esper stop.

"This…will only take a moment of your time, Terrato. And I think you want to hear it. It has to do with what we were discussing right before you left for Alexandria."

On hearing that, Terrato's own face froze. He stared back blankly at Leviathan, having lost his irritation or unease. The few espers that hadn't returned to work looked to him at that, and noticed the pause from the earth esper overhead. At any rate, the cobra didn't see them. He continued to stare right down at Leviathan, and felt the wave of seriousness and earnest be projected from his eyes into his own.

"…Everyone…" He said in a somewhat faraway tone, not looking away from Leviathan for a moment and only half caring whether or not other people heard. "I'll be out on the awning with Lord Leviathan for a few minutes. Continue without me."

In just a few minutes, both Terrato and Leviathan were back out on the overlook. When they both first walked out there, Leviathan couldn't help but pause for a few moments to take in what he was seeing. It was a great view now, without the mist to block the way. However, what truly struck him was that only a little while ago he had been here with Shiva. This was where the whole mess got started, back when he had been worried about Garnet. Now…the princess was the farthest thing on his mind. In truth, he supposed he could have been angry with her. This might have never happened if she had the self-confidence to stay away from Alexandria. But right now…he really didn't care. He wasn't one to hold a grudge. And being mad at Garnet wouldn't help them now. Like it or not, they still needed Garnet, especially if this was going to work.

Once they were both out and had distanced themselves from the hallway that provided a link back to the other espers, and both were sure they were private, Terrato turned to Leviathan. "…I take it what you meant by that comment in there was that I won't have to wait the full week in order to find out what has been going on."

Leviathan turned back to him. He was quiet a moment, but just to accent to Terrato the seriousness of what was going on. He glared at him sternly, and his expression was serious and unyielding. He was taking a commanding air on him once again, one that he rarely used. "…Yes, you are correct in thinking that." He flatly answered, making sure to keep his voice quiet as he did so. "However…as for what I am about to tell you, Terrato…I want you to know that for now it is for your ears only. None of your workers must know. If I tell you this…" He lowered his voice and became colder now. "…I will do so with the understanding that I have your trust. You will keep it to yourself and say nothing to anyone else…not until the stone monolith is complete. If I don't have it…then there is no reason for us to be out here because I will say no more. But you have to understand, Terrato…it is vital that no one else knows this. Doing so can jeopardize everything that I am trying to do within the next few days."

Terrato darkly stared back for a moment in silence, showing no change in emotion. "…It is a very hard thing to tell a person something like this, before they know what they are about to hear." He answered after a moment. "You are essentially asking me to keep something quiet which, for all I know, I might want to be rather verbal about. If it was anyone else, my lord…I would be tired of this deception by now."

Leviathan silently stared back, showing nothing.

Terrato inhaled sharply, and after a pause went on. "…But because I trust you so much, sir, I will agree. I'll keep it to myself. Now, what is the trouble?"

Leviathan turned his head back out to the horizon and inhaled deeply once.

"…You remember when Lord Bahamut returned from the moon, correct?"

Terrato paused, but then nodded. "…Yes. We all do."

"What was the first thing you recall?"

Terrato hesitated again, and thought a moment. "I guess…how grotesque he looked from his battle…"

"No, you didn't." Leviathan flatly replied, without turning. "Think hard. Most people have forgotten it by now…or gotten used to it. What's the first thing you truly remember? Before you saw him. Before anyone saw him or fetched him."

Terrato hesitated again. He bowed his head and licked his own lips, and struggled to think for a few moments. After a bit of silence, he finally shook his head. "Well…I suppose the very first thing I remember was sensing his energy."

"His energy?"

Terrato paused again. "…Actually…I guess I could say I sensed two. We all did. One of them was his, and the other's was Wyvern's. It was in the magicite."

"And you sense that now whenever you sense him, because he kept the magicite on him." Leviathan continued. "Correct?"

Terrato nodded. "Yes."

"…How can you be so sure which one is which?"

The earth esper hesitated at that. Leviathan's voice had a twist on the end of it, and it unnerved him. He hesitated for a moment and thought about that. To tell the truth…he actually wasn't sure. He had never thought of that before. He didn't know how to tell them apart. They were always together now, and they had never separated. "…Well, this one is clearly Bahamut. He has his dragon shape, his wings, his tail…"

"He's not the same color."

"…Yes, but that was supposed to be from infections and reentry."

Another brief pause.

"…Terrato…do you know what Wyvern looks like?"

The earth esper hesitated again. That odd note was on Leviathan's breath again, and it unsettled him. "…No. No one does, save for the people who were at that battlefield."

"Or those that grew up with him." Leviathan reminded him, his voice turning darker and colder. "And I know what he looks like, Terrato. The truth is that he is similar in appearance to Bahamut. About as similar as Ogopogo was to me. The only difference…is that Wyvern had a more reddish tint to his scales."

On hearing this, Terrato froze. He was putting it together now. Leviathan could tell that out of his peripheral vision. His eyes were widening, and the earth esper recoiled a bit as the truth came over him.

"…Are you meaning to tell me…"

"I knew it was him the moment I saw him in that medical wing." Leviathan continued. "What everyone assumed was due to injuries…his mannerisms, his voice, the way he carried himself… It was all Wyvern. I sensed immediately which one was the magicite and which one still lived. It wasn't our king who came back victorious from the moon. It was Wyvern. He had surpassed even our lord."

Terrato's own body seemed to turn white. He quivered in terror, and uneasily looked out for a moment, shocked at what he was hearing. His jaw hung loose as he slowly breathed. "…If I heard this from anyone else…I'd say they were lying. But I know you've never told a lie to me, Leviathan." After saying this, the serpent wheeled back around in a flash to Leviathan. "This whole time… The person we've been praising…acclaiming…nearly worshipping… The whole time we've been bowing down to the greatest enemy of esper kind in the history of Gaia? Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you organize us to drive that traitor out?"

Leviathan inhaled again, and closed his eyes as he felt more regret. "…The truth of the matter was, Terrato, that we were in a bad spot. None of us had been even close to a match with Bahamut. If Wyvern had killed him…then we knew, even weakened, he could destroy us. What more, even if we had a chance, he already had the ears of Ramuh and others. He could have claimed we were trying a coup d'etat against him. It would have started a civil war. Even if he didn't, he could have called out to his old followers and done the same thing. As fast as he was being healed, we couldn't do anything against him in time.

"I knew full well, as did my sister and brother, Starlet and Odin, who recognized him for who he was the moment he returned, that once Wyvern was recovered he'd reveal his true nature at once, and would slaughter us and anyone else loyal to Bahamut. Then he'd go about getting his revenge on the human race, in particular the summoners. You see, Rydia was right about him at the time. She had summoned Bahamut to battle him, and Bahamut was the one who left him in that terrible state. He wanted revenge on her and her friends for that.

"The only thing I could think of to save ourselves and her race was to bind Wyvern to her by force, bending him to her will to be her summon. But one of his power was too great to do it alone. So I sealed the power of other confidants we had on her, special ones that were required to bind his power…Shiva, Atomos, and Odin."

Terrato soon received another terrible shock at that, and anything that he managed to recover from the last surprise now slipped away again as he gaped at Leviathan. "Those…are the same espers that turned Nekura…"

Leviathan sighed long and slowly, keeping his eyes closed and not looking to him. "You're starting to get it, Terrato. I did bind them along with Wyvern to Rydia that very night. Not just to her…but to her bloodline. In future generations, the ability to summon and command these four espers remained inside the summoners. And they continued…right up until the time in which their latest descendant, Garnet, appeared…"

Terrato hesitated only a moment before he realized this as well. "So…" He began, as he slowly realized the truth. "That's why you were so earnest about her. You knew she had the power to control Wyvern within her. And that's why you didn't want her coming back. Because she would…" However, on saying that, Terrato stopped again. Another realization came to mind…and this one turned him to an expression of terror. "…You mean to say that the reason the Queen suddenly can command espers is because she somehow managed to manipulate Garnet into calling them?"

"Not manipulate." Leviathan corrected. "Somehow, she managed to have this Kuja draw them out of her, so that the bond now transferred to Brahne. Now that Brahne is dead, the bond is likely breaking. But it doesn't matter anymore. Kuja now has control over the espers."

"But…if that was the case," Terrato slowly continued. "…Then what about Wyvern? Why couldn't the Queen use him?"

"Wyvern is far too strong to be so easily bent to a non-summoner's will." Leviathan responded. After saying that…the sea esper slowly inhaled, and then slowly exhaled. More trouble came over him, and the dread of their current situation swept over his mind, filling him with fear and anxiety once again. "However…there were other ways, it seemed, to get him to follow Kuja. After I managed to free Shiva, Wyvern went out to challenge Kuja. But on getting there…Kuja made a deal with him. Wyvern still hates us for bowing him to our will. And he still bears hatred for the human race for humiliating him. Kuja agreed to free him from our power and increase his powers twofold in exchange for serving him." A brief pause. "…And he agreed."

Terrato's jaw dropped again. Now, the earth esper was truly stricken with terror. This was the thing all loyal espers feared more than anything. They already knew the horrific power of "Bahamut". But with it doubled? And with him serving an evil master? The thought was horrible. Now, why Leviathan had been so filled with trouble became clear. He turned back to him, and began to shake his head. "…We have to stop him, my lord. Alone, we cannot. But if we combine…if we somehow could regain the powers of Odin and Atomos…"

"Wyvern anticipated we would." Leviathan darkly answered. "He's already killed them both."

Terrato was struck dumb immediately. The situation was horrible… Worse than that, it seemed practically hopeless. The earth esper couldn't see anything good anymore. There was nothing esper kind could do against this. However, before he could wallow in despair for very long, the sea serpent turned back to him. His eyes were open now, and he glared powerfully and sternly at Terrato, commanding him like before.

"Now that you know the truth, Terrato…you know why I'm here as well. You should also know why I didn't signal ahead. There is only one thing now that can stop Wyvern from turning our world and the world of men into a flaming ruin. That is the stone monolith. This must be completed, and the holy esper must be activated. But if Wyvern learns about this before we can have it finished, it will be the end of us all. This is the only real threat to his rule left. That is why you must tell no one of this. If any of Wyvern's old allies learns of this place, they will destroy it or alert their master. We need this place, Terrato. We need it now more than ever. Do you understand?"

Terrato stared back blankly for a moment, held by Leviathan's glare. He was still awash with new revelation and fears. It struck him dumb and nearly senseless. He was filled with fear now, fearing that they were all doomed to destruction by the hellish esper now on the loose. But seeing Leviathan snapped him out of it. His eyes held him and calmed him down, and forced him to relax again. His bearings came back, and his logic brain took control again. Leviathan, in the end, was right. He knew full well that this was the only thing that could stop Wyvern. And now, he knew more than ever that it had to be completed. For the future of this world, this esper had to be ready to move and move soon. Now, they might not even have a week. Yet with new determination to have it ready, Terrato finally calmed and gave a nod.

"…I do. And we'll have this ready, come hell or high water."

Leviathan looked back at him a moment. But then, despite everything that had happened, he managed a smile. After all, he was glad that he and Terrato were finally on the same page. And he was glad that the esper was with him. "Good."

"But my lord…why didn't you tell others about this earlier?"

The sea serpent paused, and then sighed. "I couldn't risk having Wyvern's real identity get out. So long as he was willing to impersonate Bahamut, I was willing to fuel that notion. The moment he wanted to expose himself was the moment real problems would begin. But now, that's in the past. Now, he has to be destroyed, and this is the only way. I'd like to get to work right now. I brought my charts and some devices, and I'd like to start using them."

Terrato hesitated again, but then gave a nod. "Yes sir. Right this way."

The next two days were a blur.

When Leviathan had long ago drawn out his plans for the stone monolith, it was what horror stories had described for years as the ultimate expression of mankind's scientific hubris. While Leviathan hoped that it wouldn't quite amount to so much as that, he nevertheless couldn't dispute the eerie similiarities. The great machine was, for all intensive purposes, a great organism. It was the end result of Leviathan's centuries of study of organisms on a microscopic level, investigating how all of their bits and pieces worked, such as muscles, nerves, bones, and all the other minor organs and tissues. Put together, they made a life form. While unable to reproduce these things in their miniature form, Leviathan had managed to make thousands upon thousands of designs detailing ways to make them on a macroscopic level, in effect gigantic form.

That was, in effect, what all of the various machines and devices summed up to within the great monolith. It was an organism, only giant sized with corresponding giant tissues and organs made synthetically and artificially as opposed to naturally. But it was a great thing indeed. It had everything represented in clockwork, spring, and machine form that a real organism had. The one thing it lacked was the spark of life that would manipulate everything into a living, breathing organism. And that was where the Crystal Stone came in. When activated, this mountain-sized machine would come to life as an esper. Not just any esper…but one that was an amalgamation of positive energy and goodness…a holy esper. Just as the Chaos of the lost Age of Chaos had been an amalgamation of evil, this was an amalgamation of goodness.

Tirelessly, Leviathan worked to bring his creation to life. His crews were now pushed on harder by the urges of their taskmaster, who likewise worked at a feverish pace. A guard was posted at all hours, instructed to notify the superiors of the slightest approach of any dark aura. Meanwhile, the other espers continued to make adjustments and modifications. The basic physical structure of the stone monolith had been placed ages ago. Now, Leviathan had to make sure that as many of the machines would work in concert with each other, just like a real body would. He had to make sure his artificial nervous system that utilized electric charges in batteries would operate as close to a real nervous system in controlling the body. He had to make sure that the nutrient oil that provided the fuel for the machine, like blood in a circulatory system, ran without leaks. He had to make sure that the physical machines would respond with great physical force to the desires of the esper yet to be born. In short…he had to make sure it would work when it came to life.

Oil splashed…gears snapped…springs exploded…wrenches tightened…saws cut…and Leviathan read off one reading after another. Steam and oil filled the chamber with their smells. It began to be like a primitive engine in a human ship, only on a large scale, what with heat and confusion and devices running every which way but together endlessly working. But still Leviathan pushed on. He refused to sleep anymore, until his creation was ready. One problem after another was encountered. Unlike a real body, this one did not repair itself, and the few systems in place to automatically maintain the stone monolith were in short supply. Sadly, they hadn't the time to finish them all, which was the last touch that was needed on this great machination. For now, they were the immune system, and they had to clear out all the wear and tear, make all the minor adjustments, and struggle to get the thing to live. It was near endless work…and it had to be done both fast and precisely. But slowly and surely…progress was made on the great weapon.

Leviathan was in the middle of working near the head of the great machine late in the second day, adjusting one of the battery units that would act as a nerve to operate the rest of the monolith, when he heard a call. On hearing it, he immediately dropped what he was doing and looked up in anxiety. Terrato, two levels down, did the same and began to sweat. The other workers likewise stopped and looked down to the entrance. For a moment…they all went as silent as they had two days ago. But before any of them could do anything else, or jump to any conclusions, a body soon ran in through the tunnel. They recognized it as the sentry esper that was on duty.

"Palidor is coming!" He cried out.

Leviathan felt a wave of relief come over him, as his heart slowly quieted. He had feared the worst, that Wyvern was coming when they weren't ready. However, this was important too. He replaced his tools on the ground, and then rose and walked to the edge of the railing. Though in human form, he simply threw himself over the edge, sailed down in a free fall through the vast interior of the stone monolith, dodging nimbly each machine as he did so, and soon landed on the ground. He immediately dropped to a squat, but then quickly and calmly rose to his feet and stood at the ready.

The other espers took more subtle ways, but made their way down as well. As they did, the sentry stood to one side. Leviathan heard a flutter of wings from a small bird in the tunnel. As he had advised, none of the espers were risking taking a large form outside of certain "safe zones". Palidor was no exception, having turned into a tiny version of her full body. Now, he heard her morph into her full sized form, and a moment later he heard a greater rush of wind as she quickly flapped the rest of the way down the hall and out. As she emerged, the rest of the espers gathered around.

Palidor gave a graceful bow to Leviathan in greeting. "It is good to see you are still well, my lord."

"Likewise, Palidor." Leviathan responded immediately. Yet even as he said this, he asked a private question mentally…for this much information he didn't want the others to know.

How is Terratopolis?

Tritoch, as you well know, is one of the strongest ones among us. He is maintaining order for now. But it is no longer up for dispute that members of Wyvern's followers are meeting publicly. They haven't decried you or Tritoch yet, but it's only a matter of time. They're trying to win more people over to their cause, and more aggressive espers, like Ifrit, are beginning to talk of organizing against them.

Leviathan sighed slowly. Actually…this wasn't too bad. By the end of tomorrow, they would be ready. Then it wouldn't matter what happened. Wyvern would be gone, and the long, dark chapter in esper history would at last be closed. It was regretful that he and Starlet would be the only ones of the original espers left, but there was nothing for it now. At any rate, with that out of the way, it was time to get to more public matters.

"What is going on in the world of men?"

"There have been no esper attacks in days. It appears that Queen Brahne managed to make it to shore when her fleet was destroyed, but she died soon after. With her death, the kingdom has once again embraced Garnet as the true heir and legitimate Princess. Soon, she will be the Queen of Alexandria herself. Many of the people of the world take this as a good sign. It is undeniable that her rule will mean an end to Alexandria's ambitions for world conquest, and the conquered kingdoms have already been released. Even the annual Card Tournament of Treno is proceeding on schedule."

Leviathan paused at that. Well, he supposed he should thank Heaven for small favors. Though he doubted that Garnet was anywhere near emotionally stable enough to be a Queen, anything was better than Brahne at this point. However, there was still something important to know.

"…Any word…anything at all…about Kuja?"

Palidor shook her head. "Nothing. An escaped ship brought Garnet and her friends back to Alexandria two days ago at this point. Yet still there had been no acts of aggression on Alexandria. The army is preparing, none the less."

Fat lot that will do them. Leviathan groaned inwardly. This was odd to him, though. Why hadn't Wyvern attacked yet? What exactly was Kuja waiting for? He could have struck by now and eliminated the last of the summoners as well as the last kingdom of men as well. Yet he wasn't doing it… He didn't honestly fear their army, did they? They had done little against Wyvern's power back at the Iifa Tree. The least of Wyvern's weapons could wipe out every cannon and soldier in Alexandria. However, Leviathan feared that Kuja wouldn't be content with that. He'd have Wyvern bring out his strongest weapons, and Wyvern would be only too happy to-

At that thought…Leviathan paused.

Perhaps that was why…

"Anything else, my lord?" Palidor suddenly addressed.

Snapping out of his private thoughts, Leviathan turned back to the bird esper. He stared at her only a moment, and then gave a nod. "Yes. I do have one more question I'd like answered. What is the lunar cycle for tonight?"

The other espers turned in puzzlement to the sea serpent. What did that have to do with anything? How did that help them in any way? Palidor raised an eyebrow herself in confusion. But Leviathan was always serious, and glared at her hard for a response. After a momentary pause, Palidor gave a simple shrug. "Um…I don't know. I think it's a new moon now."

Leviathan paused at that. He felt a nervous ripple go through him. However, he went on. "And the weather? What is the weather predicted for tonight?"

This only served to drive the other espers into more confusion, wondering indeed where this was going. Palidor was much the same. "…There's a storm brewing for tomorrow, so it's going to be a cloudy night. Why?"

However, the answers to these innocent seeming questions filled Leviathan with dread, and he swallowed nervously. It made sense now. All espers had some sort of element which charged them with power. Years ago, he had analyzed Wyvern, without his knowledge of course, to determine his. Strangely enough, it seemed that Wyvern was able to generate energy from the inner energy in particles in their resting state. However…it was only when they were in their resting state. He couldn't generate from excited particles.Excited particles most commonly were photons, which came from light. Hence, it appeared that Wyvern managed to gain his power from darkness, just as Bahamut had gained his power from light. It was also why things seemed to die and grow cold around Wyvern when he charged his attacks. At any rate, Wyvern was at his strongest point the darker it was…the less natural light was in the area.

Now…it made sense to Leviathan, and scared him. That was what Kuja was waiting for. This point in time. Tonight. At midnight tonight, the sun would be at its farthest part from Alexandria. The new moon would keep any sunlight from being reflected, and the clouds would blot out any stars. Perfect darkness. In this sort of state, Wyvern could fully charge his own deadly Omniapex. One blast of it would not only wipe Alexandria off the face of Gaia…but most likely half of the Mist Continent.

A new fear now pervaded Leviathan. He held for a brief moment longer, but then quickly snapped out of it. They had new problems to deal with now. He supposed it had been too much to hope that they would get the full week out of this. He should feel lucky that they got as much time as they did. But that was over now. It was already late in the day. From sundown until midnight, the attack could begin at any time. Leviathan had a feeling Wyvern would rather kill some humans the old fashioned way, and blot out more lights from the city, before he destroyed the rest of the kingdom. There wasn't a moment to lose. Immediately, he wheeled around and faced Terrato. His face was so full of passion and earnest that the snake esper shot back, as did his surrounding crew.

"…Finish up everything you need to do to get the stone monolith working." He flatly ordered. "It will be activated tonight."

The other crew members gaped at this. Terrato himself reacted in shock. "Tonight? I thought we had another day."

"Not anymore." Leviathan flatly answered, already turning to go back up and finish his own task. "We now have only a few hours."

Terrato's eyes widened. "We can't finish in a few hours! We can't even get all of the nerves connected by then!"

"Then connect all you can." Leviathan flatly answered as he began to hover, not willing to take the elevator to get back up. "One way or another…the stone monolith lives tonight. If we don't launch it by then, we never will."

To be continued...